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Tindora or Giloda Shaak: Ivory Gourd Subzi

Tindora, Giloda, Ivory Gourd nu shaak is a typical Gujarati cuisine. Some enjoy it and some do not; my husband and I happen to enjoy it. You’ll find this dish in almost every Gujarati household. My mother-in-law’s tastes a bit different than my mom’s.

I have even turned into mine by cutting up the gourds while sitting on the couch, bowl on my lap, while watching tv. Relaxation at its finest. I’m sure I’m not the only one who does that.

I cut mine in half lengthwise and then cut those in half. Circles are fine too.

For this particular dish, I made my mom’s recipe. It’s very simple and pretty easy to make. This shaak does not require a lot of masala either!

You can find Tindora at any Indo-Pak grocery store or International Farmers Markets.

Crackle crackle

Traditionally, this is served during a wedding, however, it’s deep fried prior to cooking it in masala. Now, this does taste freakishly delicious but it’s a Tuesday and I did not feel like getting turnt up in deep frying my vegetables. My sister is getting married in a few months-I’ll enjoy it then :).

My masala daba. Almost every Desi person I know has one. Cannot live without this box!

One important thing when handling tindora: if the inside is bright red, toss them because they’ll make your dish slimy and you do not want that.

Cooking away my delicious gourds.

Ingredients:

1.5 lb tindora, cut into quarters into strips, or you can cut them into circles

1 tbsp neutral flavored oil

1 tsp black mustard seeds

pinch of asafetida

0.5 tsp turmeric

1 tsp coriander powder

0.5 tsp cumin powder

0.5 tsp red chili powder or to your taste

salt to taste

1/4c chopped cilantro, plus extra for garnish

0.5 tsp granulated sugar

Directions:

In a pan over medium heat, heat up the oil

Add the mustard seeds and wait until they heat up and start popping

Add the hing and turmeric powder

Dump the cut up tindora into the pan and mix well. Cover and let it steam for about 3 minutes

Add cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder and salt. Mix.

Cover again, reduce to medium-low, and allow to cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want the tindora to be tender

Remove the lid and taste to adjust seasoning.

Add the sugar and chopped cilantro. Mix and cook for another 1 minute.

Turn off heat, garnish with extra cilantro and serve with rice and roti!